Overview of role
đź“Ť Location: Gateshead
đź’° Salary: ÂŁ44,440
🕒 Shift Pattern: 4 over 7 – Dayshift | 42 hours | 6:30am – 4:30pm
đźš› Role: Transport First Line Manager
Lead, Inspire & Drive Performance at Allied Bakeries
At Allied Bakeries, home to some of the UK’s best-loved bread brands, we’re proud of our people, our heritage, and the vital role our transport teams play in keeping the nation fed. With a 4-star Glassdoor rating and a strong culture of internal development, this is a business where your leadership truly makes a difference.
We’re now looking for a Transport First Line Manager to join our large, high-volume Gateshead transport operation, managing a modern fleet of 32 vehicles across 21 delivery routes.
This is a hands-on, visible leadership role where you’ll combine people management, compliance and continuous improvement within a fast-paced, safety-critical environment.
Your Leadership Impact
You’ll have full responsibility for leading and developing a substantial operational team of:
* 8 Transport Coordinators
* 35 Drivers
* 14 Despatch colleagues (night shift) – while this is a daytime role, you’ll provide clear guidance, direction and performance management oversight for the wider 24/7 operation.
You’ll play a key role within the site leadership team, with real autonomy to improve performance, culture and engagement.
What You’ll Be Doing
đźšš Leading, motivating and developing a large multi-skilled transport team
✅ Ensuring full compliance with Tachograph, Drivers’ Hours, Operator Licence and H&S legislation
📦 Driving efficiency and performance using WMS & transport systems
đź“Š Monitoring KPIs across service, cost, safety and compliance
🌱 Recruiting, coaching and building long-term capability across your teams
🔄 Leading continuous improvement activity across transport and despatch operations
🛠️ Taking fast, decisive action to resolve operational issues and minimise risk
🤝 Working closely with Planning, Warehouse and Customer teams to deliver seamless service
What We’re Looking For
* Proven experience in Transport, Distribution or Despatch operations
* Previous people management / supervisory experience
* Strong working knowledge of Transport Legal Compliance
* Confident user of Microsoft Office and transport systems
* A calm, decisive leader with excellent communication and problem-solving skills
* ✅ National CPC – essential